Sadly for all you horror fans out there. It's been announced that the American filmmaker George A Romero has died aged 77 after hard hard fought battle with cancer. He is immortalised for his cult Zombie film, Night Of The Living Dead (1968) , Dawn Of The Dead (1978), Day Of The Dead (1985) including many remakes of his old 60s/70s Zombie movies. Others titles include, The Crazies (1973), Martin (1978), Creepshow (1982), Monkey Shines (1988) and The Dark Half (1993) beside many collaborations with other horror writers, such as Stephen King etc..... RIP George. Thanks for the scares.

Deeply saddened by this news, Romero has been a hero of mine for decades. The photo you posted ILS speaks volumes even if it doesn’t convey how tall he was, whoever took that snap must’ve been on a ladder! With the long ears, smiling compassionately...he looks like a Buddhist icon which is appropriate because that’s who George was: a talented, intelligent, funny, unassuming, non-confrontational guy that loved to laugh. The usual interviews and Q & A’s might suggest his remarkable acuity of mind, but not his incredible grasp of the art of movie making, he really knew his craft having cut his teeth as a kid working for Pittsburgh film labs, later forming with friends their own small film company, The Latent Image, which specialized in creating commercials for television. With the equipment they’d accrued, as amateur feature filmmakers they created a masterpiece... “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). There’d been zombie movies around since the 1930’s, but George’s film invented the flesh eating zombie genre, which obviously has been very long lived. The influence of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead on world cinema and global culture isn’t just profound, it’s unprecedented. Outright plagiarism is common because distributor Walter Reade insisted on changing the original title (Night of the Flesh Eaters) then failed to place a copyright notice on the print, then Reade went bankrupt. Consequently, Night has been public domain ever since. The original Night created a global industry, so there’s been hundreds of imitators, some filmmakers having their living corpses dashing about the place like Olympic speed runners, which is absurd. Paraphrasing here, but we agree with Simon Pegg who correctly observed that ‘Death is an impediment, not an energy drink.’ I enjoy all of George’s Dead movies and while Night will always be the classic, my favorite might be his unrated, full length “Day of the Dead” (1985). By that time special effects makeup genius (now world famous) Tom Savini had refined his art to a honed edge and with Day he was given the opportunity to run completely amok, it’s hilarious!! Everybody loved George and would clamber to work with him, with being the operative word because as a collaborative artist, one didn’t work for George. He genuinely appreciated his fans and treated us all with respect, George was the man that made it without kowtowing, an inspiration for all independent filmmakers. Wish he was here to see Night’s 50th anniversary next year.

Deeply saddened by this news, Romero has been a hero of mine for decades

Again nice words and sentiment DOY. Couldn't have said better. I sourced this picture as it projected who the man really was, and yes he had a vivid imagination to create those cult Zombie movies, although not the first as noted, but he himself was a giant in all aspects, notable his stature, as mentioned by you which the photo fails to project. Sad to see him go.

Au contraire mon frère, George didn’t go anywhere.Zombie Romero is slowly lumbering towards “director” Zack Snyder and his ilk, looking for brains to eat. Zombie George will inevitably find himself lumbering in the opposite direction, dejected and famished, because there was nothing to be found therein. Let’s not kid ourselves folks, Snyder’s remake of Dawn was an obnoxious disaster. Having built their careers on George’s coattails, people like Snyder are now making 100 million (and much higher!) dollar budgeted colossal flops that nobody wants to see. Now that is sad. We’ll not close on a downbeat though...Can still hear George’s characteristic laughter echoing through the disgusting stage blood and rubber appliances, squibs exploding all over the place, kensington gore sticking to every surface, ewwwww!!! .

Touché. Now George would have thought that hilarious. Wherever he is, no doubt he's wandering the churchyard with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr and Boris Karloff in that big castle in the sky.

Re remakes: Yeah some work, most don't. £100 million with Snider. Holy cow! What's amazing is. Romero's 1968 classic cost a mere $114,000, which in today's money works out under a million dollars. Now that's a return on your investment, take 49yrs into consideration. As you and I know. If someone asked what Zombie movies should they watch? We'd put down our ice cold beers, lower our shades, then say. Go jurassic, watch a classic.

Last edited by Ilovesteptoe on Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ilovesteptoe wrote:Touché. Now George would have thought that hilarious.

Maybe, I don't know if George spoke French, but we could do with some Live Brains Benedict about now.We've all had scrambled brains which we're trying to avoid, so don't look away from the cooker! Whisk frequently but not aggressively. Mustn't over heat and lemon is key, Yummy!See what you've done ILS? Now we'll be watching cheesy zombie movies all sodding night .The next morning... Crikey, could do with a cuppa! Yorkshire Tea preferred, thank you . I know you enjoy movie trivia ILS so here’s some more, in Tom Savini’s 1990 authorized remake of Night, one of the featured zombies is world famous artist Gahan Wilson; his totally unique and not infrequently macabre art was often featured in Playboy magazine. And one of the zombies in George’s original 1985 “Day of the Dead” had played Chef Brockett, a character in the very famous (and often parodied) childrens telly show, “Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood”.

See what you've done ILS? Now we'll be watching cheesy zombie movies all sodding night .

I aim to please DOY, and if my toilet activities are to be known, that shot likely hit the floor not its intended target.

Not sure if George Spoke French, although no doubt was fluent in Zombie. For example: GGrR Ooooo GrrR ara BBRAIIIIIIIINNNNNNSSS RAaaAAaA Ooo GrRr rrrAA rAAa rrAAA rrAA srrR RAa rRAAaAaa!! Which in Zombie translates as: Can I have a frothy Latte, buttered croissant, and a side order of Brains, please. Being undead sometimes has its perks.

Ilovesteptoe wrote:Can I have a frothy Latte, buttered croissant, and a side order of Brains, please

Courtesy is key, can do sir!! Coffee is our speciality . Croissants are lovely today, fresh out of the oven.Now how would you like your brains cooked?Well done, medium, or rare?Although, just between you and me mate, the brains tartare has gone off. I'd stick with coffee and croissants .

Too kind DOY. So long as the croissant is lightly toasted, the latte has two sugars, is well frothed, I'm happy. And can I have my brains well done, crispy with brown sauce on please. It's ironic in a way. Zombies are in a vegetative state and I'm a vegetarian. It's a mind bonk, so to speak. Wonder if they do them in quorn?

Ilovesteptoe wrote:£100 million with Snider. Holy cow!...can I have my brains well done, crispy with brown sauce on please. Wonder if they do them in quorn?

Quorn for brains? We’ve got firm tofu, vegetarian and kinda has the same consistency as brains, gray and jiggly . I usually slice the tofu into small cubes and fry in teriyaki marinade, lovely. As you probably know the live brains thing was an invention of Dan O’Bannon’s in his brilliant zombie comedy, “Return of the Living Dead” (1984). Have you seen George’s original “Day of the Dead” (1985, 101 min). Maybe it’s still BBFC banned over there as a video nasty, I dunno. But you should check it out, it really is quite funny . Look for a very young Greg Nicotero playing one of the army guys, he soon thereafter co-created world famous KNB EFX Group. I was careful to qualify my comments so as not to focus exclusively on Zack Snyder, as “director” of that dreadful Dawn of the Dead remake he’s just a symptom. But his latest travesty, “Batman v Superman” cost over 400 million dollars to make, talk about abject buffoonery, good grief! And as key production people predictably become vastly wealthier...audiences wander out of cinemas feeling like they’ve been blagged. DC Comics et al have virtually taken over the film industry here, even as a child I didn’t know anybody that read that rubbish. Did I say comics? Oh I’m sorry, I meant “graphic novel” . Clearly, the movie industry as it exits today, would prefer that audience learning curves didn't occur at all. A dangerous trend.

Again, too kind DOY. Tofu or not tufo, that is the question. If it's firm or wibbly, and if it goes crispy under the grill, I'm in with both feet and mouth a jar.

Have you seen George’s original “Day of the Dead” (1985, 101 min).

Yeah, I have. Brilliant. Oh, and thanks for that info about Greg Nicotero. Will check that one out a.s.a.p. It's one of my Romero favourites along with the classic (and original) Dawn Of the Dead (1978). It's been shown on UK TV too, if my fogged-up mind is correct. In fact. Some kind horror buff like us has uploaded the very film on Youtube. Fangtastic!, and ones who spend $400 million dollars onan flop, have no Brains......... (P/S)And yes you did say comics, but I forgive you.

Alas poor Yorick, I ate his brains Horatio . You mentioned Peter Jackson’s “Braindead”, if I remember correctly he used 300 gallons of kensington gore in that film which isn’t surprising, the stuff was everywhere, another hilarious classic. The only film of George’s that I got to see in the cinema was “Creepshow” back in 1982, my favorite chapter being ‘The Crate’. That bit where the student gets it really freaked me out and is still disturbing to this day, more of Tom Savini’s anatomical correctness. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy comics, far from it! EC style horror comics are still great fun, and Famous Monsters magazine. Underground comics especially, now that’s proper art. For a while there were rumours that Bobcat Goldthwait might be playing one of my favorite underground comic book characters, “Reid Fleming, World Toughest Milkman” which would’ve been perfect casting and potentially a brilliant comedy, unfortunately it never happened. DC/Marvel style super-hero comics were boring from the start but that’s how staid and uncreative the movie industry has become.If you enjoyed George’s “Day of the Dead” then you should check out Tobe Hooper’s comedy “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” (1986), it’s very funny, Tom Savini did the makeup effects for that one too. But be sure the DVD has all the extra features and commentary tracks (‘the gruesome edition’) without which some scenes are pretty harrowing.

And before the incident, said: I have a bone to pick with you. And he did. He picked his teeth with Yorick, burp.

Re Braindead which is ironic seeing we're are celebrating the life of the great George Romero. Yeah, Peter Jackson doffed his Kiwi hat to Romero with that bloodfest. So much blood in fact, as mention, a olympic sized pool could have been filled with enough left to fill a child's paddling pool. I love it, as you know talking about it in the past.

The first two Creepshow films were superb, not so the third sadly. Nice to know George saw the film he directed person too. Love the stories as mentioned, especially Romero's literary friend Stephen King, who wrote the film. I have two particular favourites. First is "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" , which Stephen King actually made his acting debut, and second, is "The Crate" mentioned. Also if I'm correct, in the story " The Crate" featured battleaxe and then wife the great John Carpenter, one Adrienne Barbeau of the 1980 classic "The Fog" fame. The part that I love, which send a chill down my spine, is when he leads his wife (Adrienne Barbeau) is led nagging to that college stairwell where the crate is stored, he pushes he in, and the obvious happens. Nom, burp. Deliciously wicked.

Oh cool info about those mags/comics. Never knew Bobcat Goldthwait had a comic character, especially one called Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman lol. Pity it never became a reality by becoming a film or TV series, although I can see it now in my mind's eye. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ilovesteptoe wrote:And he did. He picked his teeth with Yorick...Nom, burp.

Whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of Necrosis.....Aye, there's the Bub. Bub of course was the lead zombie in George’s hilarious 1985 "Day of the Dead" . More zombie trivia...The cemetery that appears in the opening scenes of George’s original “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), years later that graveyard was devastated by a tornado. And although this bit might be apocryphal, it’s been said by production participants that same tornado unearthed some coffins . I kid you not.